Aim of this course is to give an introduction in the histology of malignant tumors and their precursor lesions. Microscopical structures, growth patterns, grading and staging systems, and different cell types present in selected tumor types will be explained and discussed by pathologists.

Many research projects focus on tumor biology in order to predict survival or therapy response, using DNA-, RNA- or protein-based tests. Also, understanding biological mechanisms of a tumor may reveal new targets for future treatment. While many PhD students in cancer research nowadays have a background in molecular biology, few are well acquainted with histological characteristics of tumors, and the clinical significance of histopathological findings. In daily clinical practice histopathological examination of tissue is the mainstay and gold standard of a cancer diagnosis. In addition, the choice of treatment largely depends on pathological variables. This OOA course provides introductory hands-on training in histopathology of tumors. The course aims to provide better insight in the histopathology of various tumor types, in relation to diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic significance. As the course includes an introductory session, only basic knowledge on histology is required.

The Histopathology of Human Tumors course comprises hands-on sessions using scanned slides, plenary expert talks and multihead microscopy sessions.